November Goals

I am amazed that I am writing goals for November.  I feel like this year went by very slowly yet, now it's gone.  So crazy.  As we enter the holiday season, my goals start to shift and I focus more on getting things done in order to make sure that the time around Christmas can be geared more towards fun stuff and not be stressful with things that must get done!  You can check out my October goals HERE and see what I did (and more likely did not) accomplish

November Goals: 

The Home
1. The Kitchen - Deep cleaning.  We have some projects going on with the kitchen right now so I want to focus on doing some cleaning and cleaning out of things.  Along with rearranging what is stored where in order to make my cupboards more useful and keep the countertop cleared off as much as possible.  Along with updating some decor (using my photography to keep expense as low as possible) and just doing some updating over all.  Most of the cleaning is done - some is waiting until the project is done and the dust settles though.  I plan on doing the decor in January - after I take Christmas stuff done. 

2.  Outside - I am still working slowly to get the outside stuff done.  It seemed that every time I planned to work out side, the temps went up to the 70's and well, I don't do yard work when I have to sweat HA! (Especially in October and November GEESH!).  I'll finish up the yard prep and then actually put away the last of the outdoor stuff and get it all covered in plastic before the snow flies.  Done!  The boys and I worked hard on this project a few weeks ago and got everything cleaned up, put away and even made room to park in the garage . . .just in time for the HUGE snowstorm that hit!

3.  Christmas Decor - yes, you read that right.  I put up my outside stuff in November.  I tend to watch the weather and pick a weekend when it is not bitter cold to put up the lights and basic decor.  No, I don't turn it all on yet but I like it done before my fingers freeze and fall off :-) The outside stuff is up!  I need to up another strand of lights and some red bows to finish up the project but otherwise what we have is done.

4. Toy Clean out - After Thanksgiving, my kids spend a few days with Papa and Nana.  This is my prime time to clean up and clean out.  My kids really don't have an over abundance of toys but in order to keep it under control I have to clean it up a few times a year.  Basically, I go through every bin and basket and box - make sure that all the pieces are matched back up; go through games and make sure their aren't missing pieces that impact game play; look for broken toys, and clean out stuff they have out grown.  This allows room for Christmas toys to find new homes. My plans were arranged (all for good) so I didn't get quite as much accomplished as I planned - including this project.  I will carry this over into December and work to get everything organized and cleaned up before Christmas. 

Scrapbooking
I was able to attend a scrapbook crop in October which really helped my stick to my goals and even get a little ahead!
1. Order first set of scrapbook page prints (I have created a spread sheet and plan to get pages order - what I might actually do is figure out how much it would cost IF I ordered and put the money away.  The company I use usually does a really good sale sometime in march where I can then order more for my money!) After looking at the budget for December, I've cut out all unnecessary spending so I can focus on the things we want to do for Christmas.  I plan to start the page ordering in January.
2. Birthday Books - this was on the radar for October but didn't get done - I need to ask Josh his questions and then print the pages and put them in an album. The pages are done; now I just need to order them and get a scrapbook for each of them - the plan for this is January
3. Blog Book - also from October - I would like to put 2013 of my blog into a book and then budget to get it ordered. Not Started
4. Finish up December 2013 (if not done already) I had planned to work on this over my "weekend" but ended up with some other things going on and didn't get to it.
5. Create the Christmas ornament books for each of the boys
6. Update the Family albums
7. Create a blog book for 2012 and, again, budget it out so I know when I can order it
8. Order photos from Jan-March 2014 to have on hand for a crop at the end of the month Ordered :-)

School
1. Make my plan of where I want to be by mid-December so that we can take a few weeks off around Christmas/New Year Done!
2. Plan our Christmas Advent activities and order anything that needs to be ordered/prep anything that needs to be prepped Done!
3. Go through the books on our shelves and clean them out.  I love books and so do my kids but, I know we have quite a few books that the boys have either outgrown OR have never had an interest in.  I'd prefer to have books on the shelves they enjoy hearing and will enjoy reading at some point.
4. Go through all of my "school" supplies in the basement and clean them out or use them.  I try to limit what I have in storage - I'm more of a "use it or lose it" kind of girl ;-)
5. Create chore charts for the boys (Yes, I've had this on here before . .. some day I might do it HA)
6. Find some great recipes to make with the boys and to use to teach them how to cook some basics

Christmas
Yes, this is a new topic.  I love the Holidays and need to plan to keep it non-stressful!
1. Decorate the house.  This usually happens near the end of November.  As I do each year, I like to be a little brutal when we get stuff out and only put out what I love.  If it doesn't get put out - it goes away to Good Will. Just about done - I worked on it throughout this past week we just have put up the tree.
2. Add some new ideas - some big snowflakes in the windows, Maybe some Christmas blankets for the boys beds for something different
3. Finish all shopping for the kids/stockings/family if possible.  Financially, some things may get pushed into December but my goal is to start picking stuff up now.

Misc
1. Make plans for Nate's Birthday and have everything on hand/ready to go by the beginning of December (His birthday is just before Christmas so I strive to give him a special day that is not impacted by the fact that Christmas is two days later!)
2. Continue to grow my "Quiet Time" with a Bible Study, Daily Bible Reading and Prayer time
3. Continue to read - whether for fun or for learning.
4. Decide on my theme word for the next year and come up with a list of key goals that fit into that theme to accomplish.  Something different than these monthly goals. Done!
5. Order my Yearly Planner (It takes 4-6 weeks to arrive so I need to order early Done!